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Oddly, Lucas Browning was beginning to grow worried for the Harbinger's sake. Someone who wasn't Chak Lok or one of his direct subordinates was escorting him from the House of Reckoning, but not back to the Tower - both places Lucas had "lived in" for... how long was it now? Weeks? Months? Even though there was a clear daily schedule, the time passed was still eluding him. That was probably a side effect of the fatigue the whole situation brought him - although some blame could be put at the Harbinger's feet, as the strange things she was doing to him seemed to affect his perception of time at times.
Her... For some reason, she latched onto him as a sort of pet to mentally toy with. Probably because he was the human used to free her from imprisonment - and therefore, the first and only human she laid eyes on. He'd call it horrible luck, but he felt like it wasn't. Lucas got himself captured while trying to save others. Unlike most of the captives, he wasn't a soldier that could be tossed into the gladiator ring nor a high-ranking official with knowledge to beat out of.
At least, not until the Harbinger started whispering into his ear, placing secrets so deep into his brain that he wasn't conscious of all of them. Even though the Banished and the Harbinger had formed an alliance - with the former seeking the latter out in the first place - it appeared they weren't sharing much between each other, with Chak 'Lok jealously trying to learn what the Harbinger only shared with Lucas.
Something's happened, Lucas decided. Either my time is up and I'm being taken to the slaughter, or plans changed. Did the alliance with the Harbinger break down, and now they're taking it out on me? Are either of them about to do something big?
When the unfamiliar journey ended, Lucas found himself in a place he'd never been taken before. First of all, they traversed through a cavern behind a waterfall until they hit a constructed maze. All the halls and rooms were enclosed with no windows - not immediately a red flag, but the water dripping from the ceiling gave the impression it was for the reason of being submerged.
After being dragged by the Kig-Yar guards that'd taken over from his previous escort, Lucas was pushed to land at the feet of a cyborg Sangheili he'd never seen before. In time, he would know this red-and-black blademaster as Jega 'Rdonmai; but for the time being, the Sangheili wasn't interested in introducing himself. He got straight to business by clutching Lucas' bound wrists and lifting him off the ground. Lucas' face was inches away from the four mechanical-mandibled jaws that smelled just as foul as the biological original.
"Where is she?" he snarled, his voice highly raspy and not as deep as the average Sangheili's. Lucas only briefly wondered how much of that was the effect of the cybernetics, as he soon decided the origin of a monstrous feature meant nothing to him.
Jega's grip tightened on his wrists, even though the blademaster had yet to give Lucas room to respond. "Did she tell you her plan? Why has she disappeared?"
The Harbinger is missing? And Lucas wanted to throw up at how his stomach churned with concern. Her being gone should be a blessing to him after all she'd done. Yet part of what she'd done was forcibly implant care and obedience. Lucas had no idea what she was planning and what was going on, but he imagined that even if she did tell him, she would've also implanted the order not to aid the Banished against her.
But best not to point that out to this guy. He looked pissed - he would not take that well.
"I- I don't know what... you're talking about," Lucas forced through his clenching teeth, caused by the combination of pain and fear. That only got worse as his response triggered twin blades to activate from within the arm not holding him up, while that one clutched so hard that Lucas could feel his bloodstream hitting a brick wall within the veins.
"She told a cowardly weakling everything and shared with us nothing," Jega hissed into his ear. "I intend to correct that."
Then Lucas' side hit the ground hard as Jega slammed him down and kept pressing, as if he could get Lucas to go through the floor. He heard a whisper from a few feet away, projected just loud enough for him to hear.
"But first, I will grant you one mercy: You will have a day to get familiarized with your new cell." Jega chuckled, then hinted at the cause with: "I hope you find it an improvement over that useless Warden's Tower."
And just for a beat, Lucas found himself concerned on Chak 'Lok's behalf as well - because at least that asshole had displayed some manners when beating the shit out of a prisoner.
Here I thought I was already in the palms of lunatics...
That would be the last lucid, composed thought Lucas Browning would have for sometime.